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GREEN BAY, Wisc. — Jamaal Williams had a sour taste in his mouth after the Packers’ 29-29 tie with the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon.
But ask him about his alma mater, and BYU’s stunning 24-21 upset of Wisconsin the day before, and his face instantly beamed.
“I wasn’t able to go, but … yeah,” he said with a sly grin that BYU fans learned well while he was running for a school-record 3,901 yards and 35 touchdowns, with 16 100-yard games thrown in for good measure.
Before the game, he posted a form of good luck on his Instagram page. The post ruffled a few feathers in the NFL town just north of Madison, Wisconsin.
He apologized (briefly), but Williams had to stick to his guns.
“I had so many haters in the comments,” he laughed. “‘Wisconsin is going to win,’ and all that. I apologized to all my Green Bay fans; it’s no hard feelings. It’s just for that game.”
BYU used the win to earn 75 votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll Sunday morning, and Squally Canada rushed for 118 yards and two scores for the Cougars (2-1).
But don’t call Canada another version of a runner like Williams.
“Squally’s Squally,” Williams said. “I hate when people say he looks like me. I’ve been around Squally all this time, and I know that he’s his own runner.
“He’s putting in his own game, and I’m proud of him. He’s letting everyone know what BYU running backs are all about.”
Wisconsin fans will likely forgive him, and why not?
Just one year after the Packers drafted him in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Jamaal Williams has settled into Green Bay’s starting rotation.
He ran for a team-high 556 yards a year ago, the fourth-most by a rookie in Packers franchise history, while also catching 25 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns — the most by a rookie running back in Green Bay since Keith Woodside had 352 yards in 1988.
And before the year began, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy called for the stable ball carrier to have a “big” sophomore season.
“He’s really poised to have a big year,” McCarthy told ESPN. “Clearly without playing a game yet, I think we’ll be talking about him at the end of the season as a second-year player that’s made the jump.”
Williams started both games of the 2018 season while fellow second-year running back Aaron Jones was suspended for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. The suspension stemmed from an incident in October 2017, when Jones was arrested and charged with a marijuana-related offense to which he plead no contest in February.
In the interim, though, Williams seized his starting role. The native of Rialto, California ran for 47 yards on 15 carries in Green Bay’s 24-23 comeback win over Chicago in Week 1, then added another team-high 59 yards on 16 rushes in Sunday’s draw with Minnesota.
The Packers (1-0-1) ran 24 designed run plays Sunday, and Williams ran all but eight of them, including five from backup running back Ty Montgomery for 31 yards.
But Williams knows he can do more, even in the running back option (he caught three passes for 12 yards Sunday) and in pass protection, where he’s been charged with defending quarterback Aaron Rodgers on certain plays while the star signal caller is nursing a left knee injury.
Jamaal Williams (@jswaggdaddy) gives props to Squally Canada's 118 yards, 2 TDs in @BYUfootball's 24-21 win over Wisconsin.
— KSL SportsBeat (@kslsports) September 16, 2018
Full 🎥: https://t.co/GXbWaNEFVqpic.twitter.com/5W07WyOaYu
Williams was excited to play with Rodgers when the Packers drafted him a year ago.
Now, Rodgers is equally excited to play with Williams, just like the rest of the team.
"I'm taking a lot of risks at my age, every single time I step on the field," Rodgers said. "But there's no greater feeling than being out there with those guys, so that kind of trumps everything.
"As long as I can move in a circle, I'll play."
Williams knows he can get better, too. His downhill run game could use some work, and while he’s become a better blocker in Year 2, he’s still growing into a role that he scarcely played in four seasons at BYU.
But the growth is showing.
“I’m getting there, but I feel like I could still do a lot more,” Williams said. “But I’m just getting into a motion and feeling better this year. I’m feeling better this year, and better this week than last year.
“Hopefully next week is even better.”
